A שד (pronounced shade) is a demon or ghost, in Hebrew. In English, the word 'shade' is used to mean ghost or demon in some places. (I find it in fantasy novels a lot.)
Is there any relation?
Is there any relation between the Hebrew word שד for 'demon' and the English word 'shade' for ghost?
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See also these questions: linguistics.stackexchange.com/questions/2451/…, linguistics.stackexchange.com/questions/2229/…, and linguistics.stackexchange.com/questions/8373/…– Sir CornflakesJan 9, 2017 at 14:05
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2שד isn't really pronounced shade, but [ʃɛd], which is closer to English shed.– TKRJan 10, 2017 at 6:08
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2@TKR. In Biblical/Classical Hebrew it is actually /ʃeδ/, which sounds even less like “shade”.– fdbJan 12, 2017 at 0:18
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English 'shade' for demon is metaphorical for 'shadow of a dead spirit', so the etymology is the same as that for shadow. Do you know the provenance of 'שד'? Is it somewhere on the AHD Semitic Roots list?– MitchJan 19, 2017 at 17:14
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2 Answers
Probably not.
The etymology of English "shade" (newest to oldest) is something like:
- Modern English "shade"
- Old English sċeadu (shadow)
- Proto-Germanic *skađwaz (shadow)
- Proto-Indo-European *sk(e)h₃-tos (darkness)
There's decent evidence for this being a native Indo-European root; while it was most productive in Germanic, it has descendants in different parts of the world as well (Ancient Greek σκότος/skótos, Irish scáth, loaned into Finnish katve).
The main etymology of Hebrew šed that I've found is:
- Modern Hebrew šed (spirit)
- Aramaic šēḏā (demon)
- Akkadian šēdu (a male lamassu (protective zodiac deity))
- (Unknown preceding Proto-Semitic form - but see fdb's answer)
(Transcribing all of these because my computer does not like changing text direction mid-line.)
There doesn't seem to be any obvious connection between *sk(e)h₃-tos and šēdu, in form or in meaning. This is more likely just a coincidence.
answered Jan 9, 2017 at 17:55
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8@Mithrandir Linguistic coincidences are legion. They happen all the time. For that reason, the default position when encountering a linguistic coincidence is to treat it as just that: coincidental, and nothing more, until such time as evidence is produced to make a concrete connection. In other words, when you hit a coincidence, either ignore it or see what the already-established etymologies have to say (as Draconis has done here in their answer).– Dan BronJan 9, 2017 at 18:57
Akkadian šēdu is probably cognate with Arabic saʽd “happiness”. Aramaic šēδā and Hebrew šēδ are most probably borrowings from Akkadian, with reversal of the meaning (“good spirit” > “pagan god” > “evil spirit”).The proto-Semitic form would then be *s1aʽd.
